Italian set to win Tour de France

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Journal Star

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Posted Jul. 26, 2014 at 7:03 PM

Posted Jul. 26, 2014 at 7:03 PM

PERIGUEUX, France (AP) — Finally cracking broad smiles after weeks of no-nonsense racing, Vincenzo Nibali confirmed he will win the Tour de France after another impressive ride in a dramatic penultimate stage on Saturday.

Nibali all but ensured he will be crowned Tour champion for the first time thanks to winning the last mountain stage on Thursday. But a desire to leave nothing to chance, even with the biggest overall lead in 17 years, saw him push himself in the individual time trial for fourth place behind winner and German speedster Tony Martin.

In doing so, the rider they call “The Shark” padded his overall lead on Stage 20 by more than 40 seconds to nearly eight minutes.

He grabbed the yellow jersey on Stage 2 almost three weeks ago, and has worn it for all but two stages. A largely ceremonial final ride into Paris awaits on Sunday.

“It’s really difficult to explain all the emotions that I’ve gone through in these last three weeks. But as time goes by, maybe I’ll find the words to describe what I’m feeling,” Nibali said through a translator. “Perhaps on the Champs-Elysees, I’ll realize a little bit more.

“This year was a great race. It was almost made to measure for me,” he said of the ride through the hills and dales of Yorkshire, England, over cobblestones in northern France, and over mountain passes in the Alps and Pyrenees.

For days, Nibali’s domination has reduced the drama to who would join him on the final podium on Sunday. The Stage 20 time trial solved that: Jean-Christophe Peraud and Thibaut Pinot. They will be the first Frenchman to medal in France’s beloved race since Richard Virenque in 1997.

The duo did enough to leave behind an unlucky Alejandro Valverde of Spain in their three-man race for the final podium. Only 15 seconds separated them when the stage began in Bergerac, but it became more than two minutes when the time trial finished in Perigueux.

Peraud, a former mountain bike racer, became tearful at the finish after learning he would be the Tour runner-up: “It’s beautiful,” he said.

The 37-year-old Beijing Olympic silver medalist also teared up during a news conference. “Now, I can retire,” Peraud said.

Because Valverde had a bad day, Peraud, who even blew a flat and had to change bikes, losing about 20 seconds, and Pinot were able to shade him.